Pete Buttigieg is optimistic about his support among black voters. Polls continue to show he shouldn't be.


The Washington Post's polling director is hitting back at Pete Buttigieg's assertion that "the black voters who know me best are supporting me."
Buttigieg made the statement during Tuesday night's Democratic debate in Iowa, after being asked about polls showing that he has next to no support from African Americans. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said that "among elected black officials in my community who have gotten into this race, by far most of them are supporting me." He's also "proud that my campaign is co-chaired by a member of the Congressional Black Caucus" and that he has the backing of prominent black elected officials in Iowa.
The Post's Scott Clement tweeted that Buttigieg's claim that "as African Americans get to know him, he will gain more support" is undercut by a recent Washington Post-Ipsos national poll where he "receives only 3 percent support among black voters who are familiar with him." The poll, published Saturday, also shows Buttigieg standing at "2 percent among Democratic black voters nationally." Former Vice President Joe Biden came out on top of the poll with 48 percent, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) with 20 percent.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Delivery drivers face continuing heat danger with Trump's OSHA pick
The Explainer David Keeling is the former head of UPS and also worked at Amazon
-
Is that the buzzing sound of climate change worsening sleep apnea?
Under the radar Catching diseases, not those ever-essential Zzs
-
Codeword: July 3, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible